A motorized bicycle storage and retrieval assembly for loading, storing and unloading bikes. The storage assembly is mountable within or to the top of existing bicycle storage racks. The storage assembly has a frame, a lower track, an upper track and a motor assembly and windable cable interconnects the lower and upper trolley track. The upper track has front and rear bike wheel securement structures which secure a bike to the upper track. A plate assembly is provided to pivot the upper trolley track with respect to the lower trolley track to load and unload bikes. The motorized assembly includes a gear reduction device, a brake device, a wound cable and a switch mechanism to operate the bicycle storage assembly. Further, a safety mechanism is provided to lock the upper track to the lower track.
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10. A bicycle storage and retrieval assembly comprising:
a) a frame structure;
b) a lower track assembly secured to said frame structure;
c) an upper trolley track assembly, constructed and arranged to be slidable and pivotable with said lower track assembly and further having means to hold a bicycle;
d) a motor assembly operative between said lower track assembly and said upper trolley track assembly, said motor assembly having a shaft with means for interconnecting said upper trolley track assembly with said lower track assembly and for moving said upper trolley track assembly with respect to said lower track assembly, said motor assembly further having an activation switch, an upper stop switch and a lower stop switch; and
e) said motor assembly further having a gear reduction device and a brake device, said activation switch of said motor assembly being a toggle switch and said upper and lower stop switches being mounted on said lower track assembly and further wherein a wand with a terminal end is provided to activate said activation switch.
17. A bicycle storage and retrieval assembly comprising:
a) a frame structure;
b) a lower track assembly having a plurality of apertures and being secured to said frame structure;
c) an upper trolley track assembly having a pivotable upper track plate assembly attached thereto which is positioned for movement in said lower track assembly so that said upper trolley track assembly is constructed and arranged to be slidable and pivotable with said lower track assembly, said upper trolley track assembly having a pivotable pawl for engaging said apertures at a predetermined rate of movement, said upper trolley track assembly further having means to hold a bicycle including a front wheel cage structure and a rear wheel securement assembly, said rear wheel securement assembly having a movable base member having rollers, at least one cage structure and a locking structure for engaging a bicycle wheel; and
d) a motor assembly operative between said lower track assembly and said upper trolley track assembly and having a lower stop switch, an upper stop switch and an up/down switch.
1. A bicycle storage and retrieval assembly for a storage rack structure comprising:
a) a mounting structure for attachment to the storage rack structure;
b) a lower track assembly secured to said mounting structure, said lower track having a plurality of apertures;
c) an upper track assembly, constructed and arranged to be slidable and pivotable with respect to said lower track assembly and further having means to hold a bicycle, said upper track having a pivotable pawl for engaging said apertures of said lower track at a predetermined rate of movement;
d) a motor assembly with a brake mechanism, a gear reduction device, a lower stop switch, an upper stop switch and an up/down switch, said motor assembly further having a shaft with means for moving said upper track assembly with respect to said lower track assembly;
e) a pivotable upper track plate assembly attached to said upper track assembly and positioned for movement in said lower track assembly; and
f) said means to hold a bicycle including a front wheel cage structure and a rear wheel securement assembly and said rear wheel securement assembly including a movable base member having rollers, at least one cage structure and a locking structure for engaging a bicycle wheel.
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This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application Ser. No. 60/902,478, filed on Feb. 21, 2007.
This invention relates generally to a bicycle storage and retrieval assembly and particularly to a motorized storage assembly for loading, storing and unloading bicycles and which is mountable to a bicycle storage rack. More particularly, the invention relates to an automated, motorized storage assembly for loading and unloading bicycles to and from an elevated storage position.
As disclosed in pending U.S. patent application Ser. No. 11/329,441, filed on Jan. 11, 2006, entitled Bicycle Storage and Retrieval Assembly, Applicant provides several embodiments for a manually operated storage assembly for bicycles. One such embodiment relates to a manually operated bicycle storage assembly which uses a tool member to aid in the loading and unloading of bikes from high storage positions, i.e., a third bike storage level.
The disclosure of the Ser. No. 11/329,441 is fully incorporated by reference into this application. The motorized bicycle storage and retrieval assembly of the present invention utilizes common components to the embodiments disclosed in the '441 Application, however, several components have been eliminated and other components have been added to provide an automated, motorized bicycle storage assembly which is activated by a power switch to load and unload bikes from an elevated position.
The motorized bicycle storage assembly of the invention provides a quick and easy manner to store and retrieve bicycles from elevated storage locations and permits relatively short personnel to utilize a bike storage system without requiring extraordinary strength.
The motorized bicycle storage and retrieval assembly of the invention comprises a frame structure holding a lower track and an upper track on which a bicycle may be secured. The upper track moves with respect to and may pivot with respect to the lower track. The present invention utilizes a motor assembly, with a rotatable shaft and a wound cable thereon which is mounted at the upper end of the lower track and connected to and operative on the upper track. The motor assembly is activated by a remote switch, accessible to the user in either a forward or reverse position to thereby wind or unwind the cable to thereby load or to unload a bike.
A cable is wound on the rotatable shaft and is connected to the end of the upper track to thereby move and control the movement of the upper track with respect to the lower track. The upper track has a front wheel holder structure and a movable or slidable rear wheel holder structure to secure a bicycle to the upper track. These structures are shown and described in the '441 Application.
A movable and pivotable plate device is provided for movement in the lower track to guide the cable and to provide the secure pivoting motion of the upper track with respect to the lower track. The pivotable plate has a pair of dogs which engage apertures in the bottom of the lower track so that the release of the upper track rear wheel rollers from the lower track side openings allows the controlled pivoting of the bicycle on the upper track for removal.
Upper and lower limit stop switches are also provided to control the motor assembly. The motor assembly is preferably a small AC or DC operated motor with an attached gear reduction device so that the cable can be wound on and unwound from the rotatable shaft. For example, a small DC motor capable of generating approximately 40 pounds of torque has been found suitable for the present application. An AC/DC converter is provided to power the DC motor.
The motor assembly is further provided with a brake device to limit shaft rotation and a safety mechanism comprising a plurality of apertures in the lower track with a cooperating pivotable pawl connected to the upper track. These devices are provided as safeguards to secure the upper track to the lower track.
These and other benefits of this invention will become clear from the following description by reference to the drawings.
The motorized bicycle storage and retrieval assembly of the invention may be used within a storage rack or on top of an existing storage rack, the latter being a third or elevated storage level, for example. The assembly comprises a frame structure, a lower track, an upper track with front wheel securement means and with a cooperating movable trolley having rear wheel securement means. Although using common components of the assemblies disclosed in the pending '441 Application, the biasing means provided to interconnect the lower and upper tracks has been eliminated and other components have been added to the motorized storage assembly of the present invention.
Referring to
Referring to
Referring to
The motor assembly 23 preferably has brake means 59 which prevents the turning of the rotatable shaft 56 unless powered by the motor. Brake devices for electric motors known in the art may be utilized.
As shown particularly in
Referring to
The motor assembly is preferably a small DC motor having a gear reduction assembly attached thereto and which generates approximately 40 lbs of torque. The motor is preferably operated by 110 AC/DC converter and is activated by an up/down switch. An upper limit switch and a lower switch positioned with respect to the lower track are also provided to stop the motor when the upper track moves up and down the lower track. The up/down switch may also be mounted in an elevated position so that a wand is utilized to activate the switch. The elevated position for the switch is to prevent accidental activation.
As shown particularly in
The primary elements provided and utilized in the motorized assembly of the present invention are the motor assembly having the attached gear reduction device and windable cable structure. Importantly, the pivotable plate structure 60 allows the cable 53 to control the movement of the upper track with respect to the lower track. The channel openings 29 and 30 in the channels 28 and 27 in combination with the pivotable plate allow the rear wheel rollers 38 to release the upper track from the lower track to thereby provide a user to remove or place a bicycle from the downwardly extending upper track.
As many changes are possible to the motorized bicycle storage and retrieval assembly of this invention, utilizing the teachings thereof, the description above and the accompanying drawings should be interpreted in the illustrative and not the limited sense.
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Executed on | Assignor | Assignee | Conveyance | Frame | Reel | Doc |
Jan 20 2016 | LARSON, ROGER C | LIFT AND STORE, LLC | ASSIGNMENT OF ASSIGNORS INTEREST SEE DOCUMENT FOR DETAILS | 038528 | /0786 | |
Apr 05 2016 | LARSON, ROGER CHARLES | Lift and Store LLC | ASSIGNMENT OF ASSIGNORS INTEREST SEE DOCUMENT FOR DETAILS | 038195 | /0662 |
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